South Korea has secured a significant partnership with BlackRock to accelerate its ambition of becoming Asia’s leading AI hub. The agreement will see the global asset manager join the Ministry of Science and ICT in developing hyperscale AI data centres.
A deal that followed a meeting between President Lee Jae Myung and BlackRock chair Larry Fink, who pledged to attract large-scale international investment into the country’s AI infrastructure.
Although no figures were disclosed, the partnership is expected to focus on meeting rising demand from domestic users and the wider Asia-Pacific region, with renewable energy powering the facilities.
The move comes as Seoul increases national funding for AI, semiconductors and other strategic technologies to KRW150 trillion ($107.7 billion). South Korean companies are also stepping up efforts, with SK Telecom announcing plans to raise AI investment to a third of its revenue over five years.
BlackRock’s involvement signals international confidence in South Korea’s long-term vision to position itself as a regional AI powerhouse and secure a leadership role in next-generation digital infrastructure.
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Misconfigurations in cloud systems and enterprise networks remain one of the most persistent and damaging causes of data breaches worldwide.
Recent incidents have highlighted the scale of the issue, including a cloud breach at the US Department of Homeland Security, where sensitive intelligence data was inadvertently exposed to thousands of unauthorised users.
Experts say such lapses are often more about people and processes than technology. Complex workflows, rapid deployment cycles and poor oversight allow errors to spread across entire systems. Misconfigured servers, storage buckets or access permissions then become easy entry points for attackers.
Analysts argue that preventing these mistakes requires better governance, training and process discipline rather. Building strong safeguards and ensuring staff have the knowledge to configure systems securely are critical to closing one of the most exploited doors in cybersecurity.
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AI headlines often flip between hype and fear, but the truth is more nuanced. Much research is misrepresented, with task overlaps miscast as job losses. Leaders and workers need clear guidance on using AI effectively.
Microsoft Research mapped 200,000 Copilot conversations to work tasks, but headlines warned of job risks. The study showed overlap, not replacement. Context, judgment, and interpretation remain human strengths, meaning AI supports rather than replaces roles.
Other research is similarly skewed. METR found that AI slowed developers by 19%, but mostly due to the learning curves associated with first use. MIT’s ‘GenAI Divide’ measured adoption, not ability, showing workflow gaps rather than technology failure.
Better studies reveal the collaborative power of AI. Harvard’s ‘Cybernetic Teammate’ experiment demonstrated that individuals using AI performed as well as full teams without it. AI bridged technical and commercial silos, boosting engagement and improving the quality of solutions produced.
The future of AI at work will be shaped by thoughtful trials, not headlines. By treating AI as a teammate, organisations can refine workflows, strengthen collaboration, and turn AI’s potential into long-term competitive advantage.
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VodafoneThree has signed multibillion-pound investment deals with Ericsson and Nokia to accelerate the rollout of what it calls the UK’s best mobile network. The move marks the latest milestone in the newly merged operator’s £11 billion plan.
The partnerships will deliver one of Europe’s largest privately funded infrastructure builds, modernising existing 4G and 5G networks while preparing the country for nationwide 5G Standalone. Four British site-build companies will also support construction across the UK.
VodafoneThree estimates the investment could boost the UK economy by up to £102 billion between 2025 and 2035. Up to 13,000 jobs are expected to be created in engineering and construction, with most based outside London and the South East.
The company says nearly three-quarters of the population will have access to its fastest 5G speeds in the first year, rising to 90% by year three. By 2034, 99.95% of the population is forecast to be covered by 5G Standalone, creating what VodafoneThree describes as the UK’s first nationwide AI-ready network.
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Global AI spending is projected to reach $1.5 trillion in 2025 and exceed $2 trillion in 2026, yet a critical element is missing: human judgement. A growing number of organisations are turning to behavioural science to bridge this gap, coding it directly into AI systems to create what experts call behavioural AI.
Early adopters like Clarity AI utilise behavioural AI to flag ESG controversies before they impact earnings. Morgan Stanley uses machine learning and satellite data to monitor environmental risks, while Google Maps influences driver behaviour, preventing over one million tonnes of CO₂ annually.
Behavioural AI is being used to predict how leaders and societies act under uncertainty. These insights guide corporate strategy, PR campaigns, and decision-making. Mind Friend combines a network of 500 mental health experts with AI to build a ‘behavioural infrastructure’ that enhances judgement.
The behaviour analytics market was valued at $1.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $10.8 billion by 2032. Major players, such as IBM and Adobe, are entering the field, while Davos and other global forums debate how behavioural frameworks should shape investment and policy decisions.
As AI scrutiny grows, ethical safeguards are critical. Companies that embed governance, fairness, and privacy protections into their behavioural AI are earning trust. In a $2 trillion market, winners will be those who pair algorithms with a deep understanding of human behaviour.
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The University of Oxford will become the first UK university to offer free ChatGPT Edu access to all staff and students. The rollout follows a year-long pilot with 750 academics, researchers, and professional services staff across the University and Colleges.
ChatGPT Edu, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-5 model, is designed for education with enterprise-grade security and data privacy. Oxford says it will support research, teaching, and operations while encouraging safe, responsible use through robust governance, training, and guidance.
Staff and students will receive access to in-person and online training, webinars, and specialised guidance on the use of generative AI. A dedicated AI Competency Centre and network of AI Ambassadors will support users, alongside mandatory security training.
The prestigious UK university has also established a Digital Governance Unit and an AI Governance Group to oversee the adoption of emerging technologies. Pilots are underway to digitise the Bodleian Libraries and explore how AI can improve access to historical collections worldwide.
A jointly funded research programme with the Oxford Martin School and OpenAI will study the societal impact of AI adoption. The project is part of OpenAI’s NextGenAI consortium, which brings together 15 global research institutions to accelerate breakthroughs in AI.
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AI is set to reshape daily life in 2026, with innovations moving beyond software to influence the physical world, work environments, and international relations.
Autonomous agents will increasingly manage household and workplace tasks, coordinating projects, handling logistics, and interacting with smart devices instead of relying solely on humans.
Synthetic content will become ubiquitous, potentially comprising up to 90 percent of online material. While it can accelerate data analysis and insight generation, the challenge will be to ensure genuine human creativity and experience remain visible instead of being drowned out by generic AI outputs.
The workplace will see both opportunity and disruption. Routine and administrative work will increasingly be offloaded to AI, creating roles such as prompt engineers and AI ethics specialists, while some traditional positions face redundancy.
Similarly, AI will expand into healthcare, autonomous transport, and industrial automation, becoming a tangible presence in everyday life instead of remaining a background technology.
Governments and global institutions will grapple with AI’s geopolitical and economic impact. From trade restrictions to synthetic propaganda, world leaders will attempt to control AI’s spread and underlying data instead of allowing a single country or corporation to have unchecked dominance.
Energy efficiency and sustainability will also rise to the fore, as AI’s growing power demands require innovative solutions to reduce environmental impact.
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Te Whatu Ora (the healthcare system of New Zealand) has appointed Sonny Taite as acting director of innovation and AI and launched a new programme called HealthX.
An initiative that aims to deliver one AI-driven healthcare project each month from September 2025 until February 2026, based on ideas from frontline staff instead of new concepts.
Speaking at the TUANZ and DHA Tech Users Summit in Auckland, New Zealand, Taite explained that HealthX will focus on three pressing challenges: workforce shortages, inequitable access to care, and clinical inefficiencies.
He emphasised the importance of validating ideas, securing funding, and ensuring successful pilots scale nationally.
The programme has already tested an AI-powered medical scribe in the Hawke’s Bay emergency department, with early results showing a significant reduction in administrative workload.
Taite is also exploring solutions for specialist shortages, particularly in dermatology, where some regions lack public services, forcing patients to travel or seek private care.
A core cross-functional team, a clinical expert group, and frontline champions such as chief medical officers will drive HealthX.
Taite underlined that building on existing cybersecurity and AI infrastructure at Te Whatu Ora, which already processes billions of security signals monthly, provides a strong foundation for scaling innovation across the health system.
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GitHub has launched a new app for Microsoft Teams that integrates Copilot directly into workplace chats. The tool is designed to turn everyday conversations into code, pull requests and documentation, bringing development work closer to team discussions instead of separating them into different platforms.
An app that functions like an additional team member who understands the codebase. It can open pull requests, write code, automate tasks and request reviews, while respecting repository and organisational policies.
Analysing project history and surfacing relevant files provides context-aware support without removing human oversight.
Teams can now move from reporting a bug to delivering a fix entirely within a chat channel. From identifying problems to discussing solutions and seeing Copilot carry out changes step by step, the whole workflow remains visible to the team.
Progress updates are displayed in real time inside Teams instead of requiring developers to switch tools.
The new app is previewed, with GitHub inviting user feedback before a wider rollout. The earlier GitHub for Teams app has been renamed GitHub Notifications, which now focuses only on surfacing issues, pull requests and workflow updates.
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The Chinese tech company, Huawei, has introduced over 30 global benchmark showcases at HUAWEI CONNECT 2025, highlighting how AI is reshaping digital transformation across education, healthcare, finance, government, and energy.
The company emphasised that networks have become the backbone of intelligent upgrades instead of serving only as information channels.
Among the examples, Shenzhen Welkin School presented an innovative education model to expand equitable learning opportunities. In finance, China Pacific Insurance demonstrated how its intelligent computing centre uses large-model training and inference to accelerate digital services.
Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore showcased an innovative campus network that improves the visitor experience and sets a new standard for digital innovation.
These initiatives were developed jointly by Huawei and its partners, creating replicable practices that can be applied worldwide. Leaders from Huawei and industry organisations attended the launch, underlining the collaborative nature of these projects.
The showcases will be open for on-site visits, offering customers direct insight into how AI can be integrated into networks to boost efficiency and enhance user experience.
Huawei noted that the insights gained from these projects will guide future innovations. The company and its partners aim to refine solutions and extend their applicability across various sectors by drawing on proven industry applications.
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